Lot 25: Luis Alvarez Catalá , Spanish 1836-1901 A Musical Recital oil on canvas

signed L. Alvarez and dated MADRID-1901 (lower right) oil on canvas

measurements 25 by 38 3/4 in. alternate measurements 63.5 by 98.4 cm

The Estate of Luis Alvarez Catalá, Madrid, 1901, inventory no. 1
Los Condes de San Mateo de Valparaiso (acquired from an heir of the above)
Thence by descent through the family

Luis Alvarez Catalá was among the most distinguished members of the Spanish School in Rome. After studying at the San Fernando School in Madrid he won a scholarship to the Italian capital, where he attended the Chigi Academy and became a close friend of Mariano Fortuny. Alvarez quickly established himself as the painter par excellence of conversation pieces set in eighteenth century interiors, which found a ready market both in Italy and in Spain. The eighteenth century assumed an almost mythic significance for nineteenth century bourgeois Europe. It was the age of elegance, a trait which many people felt to be lacking in contemporary society. The new rich in particular looked back with admiration and even nostalgia to a society in which the aristocrat held sway. Emulation of aristocratic taste and acquisition of social approval were at the root of the taste for paintings of elegant people in luxurious surroundings.